fall on
Britishverb
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Also: fall upon. to attack or snatch (an army, booty, etc)
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to fail, esp in a ridiculous or humiliating manner
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to emerge unexpectedly well from a difficult situation
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Also, fall upon.
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Attack suddenly and viciously, as in They fell on the guards and overpowered them . [c. 1400]
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Meet with, encounter, as in They fell on hard times . [Late 1500s]
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Find by chance, discover, as in We fell upon the idea last Saturday night . [Mid-1600s]
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Be the responsibility or duty of someone, as in It fell on Clara to support the entire family . [Mid-1800s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with fall on .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It will gradually turn a reddish, copper color as sunlight bends and filters through the atmosphere to fall on the otherwise-obscured part of the moon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Altman takes a real-world approach to balance training: When you fall, you don’t typically fall on one leg, she reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
For decades, mathematicians have tried to prove the Riemann hypothesis, which says that 100% of the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function fall on a single vertical line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Campaigners such as Water Awareness Jersey wanted to see more action more quickly, and were concerned the cost could fall on taxpayers who were not responsible for the problems.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Did he have a heart attack or something? Or did he fall on the ice and crack his head? Just tell me. Please, Mami.”
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
